Maypole dancers
There are 18 maypole dancers. The Pitt script had 18 as well. They were from the Douglas Ewart High School, Newton Stewart, classes 1c, 1d and 2d. Their singing was done by women on the soundtrack. Paul Giovanni (in Cinefantastique): “I hadn't wanted to bring in a bunch of boy sopranos for an afternoon, it's too expensive, so the girls that we had for the other work over-dubbed a couple of tracks, and it worked." Gary Carpenter: "Rachel Verney and another singer, Sally Presant, also made other lasting and uncredited contributions to the film, namely many of the boys' voices in the Maypole sequence...." See also the Behind the scenes pics and the Maypole Song,. Individual dancers with any reminisces they have Steve McHarg (age 14 at the time) Michael Conway - Lives in Edinburgh. Has written for Punch and other newspapers. Garry Da Prato (age 13 or 14 at the time. Now deceased) - remembered rehearsals in the gym. Brian Marshall Andy "Toot" Kilpatrick Ian Paterson William Mc Gowan - "The majority of the boys in the Maypole scene were selected from the same year I was from the year above (?) but decided that the film would be all the better if I was in it. the selection process was in the Douglas Ewart High School the old B block school gym hall (?) on a Saturday , I believe. I had football that morning and as we had the use of the changing rooms I noticed strange activity in the main hall and Fairplay(?) to the film director for I had no sooner opened the gym hall doors to find out what was afoot then I heard the shout I need that Boy in my Movie, followed by learning the song and having it recorded. upon arrival at the site at Anwoth I was amazed at the trouble they had gone to tying pink crepe paper to the trees to make it look like apple blossom. We had 2/3 days on site at Anwoth with a brown envelope at the end containing about 75p however we ate well from the catering van. I believe I had roast duck and all the autographs we wanted. I got 50p when I sold my Edward Woodward autograph to a friend (more money than sense). Apart from getting a clip round the ear from Mr Woodward for knocking his hat out of his hand in the first take of us all running into the classroom scene the biggest shock was when we entered the class, The supposed school girls were all grown up women yet in the film they look like schoolgirls , pure magic.(!) I had a student contact me from a Manchester place of learning (Gail Ashurst?) who was doing a study on the Wickerman and was certainly putting in the legwork for her project. this was a while back and I have lost her details so I don't know what became of her work. Now a little gem for you: Shallow grave the film with Euan Mcgregor the ten minutes he sits watching the new tv in his room the film he is watching is the Wickerman with big scene shots of the Maypole dance." William Lindsay - now a butcher in Creetown. Jim Lowe - lives in KY now. Jacqueline Christie Addis's husband... Mark Norris? Jim Burns? David Cronnie? - "I used to go for my dinner from primary school to the Ellangowan in Creetown. I can remember sitting chatting to Edward Woodward on the stairs several times. I can remember him sitting in his police uniform." Others remember Marjorie Mcauliffe: I remember my neighbour (Gary Da Prato) who would be about 11 at the time was one of the children who was dancing round the Maypole and when Diane Cillento rung the school bell the children were so enthusiastic they knocked her down running back into the school so they had to retake it. Gordon Hyslop: A lot of my class 1 c were dancing round the maple tree including Toot Kilpatrick, Brian Marshall, also a few of 1 b Ian Paterson class. We had a roll call of all in film at our 1972 year reunion. Rest of lads were from 2 d. In issue #1 of Nuada, the Wicker Man fan magazine, there was a story about the maypole dancers (Page 20 - A Merry Reunion?) based on correspondence with them. Steve McHarg, Garry DaPrato and William MacGowan were interviewed. Garry now a merchant seaman. Pics of Garry and Steve at age 14. They couldn’t watch the movie they were in until they were legal age! (18?). Olive Mcdonald: remembers filming the maypole scene and all (the girls were there in their summer dresses)? and the snow was coming down. Her daughter, Raye, was in the same class as them. She remembers: "...my memory of the boys getting a day off to go dance around the maypole, was from primary school. Hmmm, I seem to remember the rest of us were jealous because the boys got a day off to make a movie...."